Pantheon
by LionRawr
Summary: Not directly related, but plot is inspired by Twilight. A girl falls in love with a boy who is not human but not vampire either. Her life is changed forever as secrets about him are slowly revealed.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Here's the first chapter of my new story. Enjoy!_

_Riiiiiing! Riiiiing! Riiiiiing!_

The caller display on Aubrey Phoenix's cell read Sarah Cayley. She snatched it off her desk, putting down the magazine she was reading.

"Hey, Sarah," she intoned into the receiver.

"Hey, Aubbs," came a voice on the other end. "I was wondering if you wanted to come to the beach with us tomorrow."

"Who's us?"

"Well, me, Daniel, Bradley, Shaylyn, and Dustin," Sarah replied, listing off their closest friends. "Oh, and your new boyfriend said he wanted to come too."

"My new boyfriend has a name," Aubrey said irritably, "and it's Rory."

"Whatever. You go through boyfriends so fast, nobody can remember who's who."

Aubrey growled into the phone.

"Okay, okay, sorry." Sarah giggled. "So are you coming?"

"Sure."

"Great. We'll pick you up at ten tomorrow, okay?"

"Yup. Catcha later then."

"Bye."

* * *

Aubrey hastily shoved her required beach items into her bag. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her new bikini was proving to be very attractive. She leaned forward, preening herself. She fixed her light, wavy brown hair up into a messy bun and stuck in a few pins. She pulled on a short skirt and placed her sunglasses carefully on the top of her head.

_BEEP BEEEEEEEEEP!_

A car horn honked just outside. She peered out the window. Dustin's dark blue Dodge Caravan sat on the curb. The front passenger window rolled down, and Sarah beckoned impatiently. Aubrey nodded, seized her bag, and flew down the stairs.

Once out the door she hopped into the van and climbed into the back, where she sat next to Rory.

He was a good-looking guy; sandy blonde hair hanging half over his face, big green eyes that adored her, and a great body. She had met him just last week at a party, where he was introduced as somebody's cousin who would be moving into the neighbourhood and enrolling at their high school. He had wanted her, that was clear; every boy who saw her wanted her. She hadn't had a boyfriend at the time, which was unusual, so when he asked her out she giggled with her friends and agreed. They had seen each other every day since then.

"Hi baby, how are you?" he whispered, lips on her ear.

Aubrey smiled. "Good." She turned her head and briefly pressed her lips to his.

"Do you wanna come get pizza with me after?" he asked softly, looking down into her eyes.

She nodded, and he kissed her tenderly on the cheek.

"Okay, enough of this fluffy stuff!" shouted Dustin from the driver's seat. "Let's get the show on the road!"

He opened all the windows and blasted up the music on the radio. The guys leaned back in their seats and relaxed while the girls huddled together and bounced up and down excitedly.

Dustin parked the car in the parking lot just outside the Boardwalk Pub. Jumping out of the car, Aubrey clutched Rory's hand and pulled it impatiently as he gathered up their bags and carried them down to the beach. Daniel strolled into the pub, calling over his shoulder that he'd get beers for everyone and bring them down in a minute.

They marched down into the sand. Aubrey tossed her flip-flops off her feet and felt the sand squish between her toes. She flapped out a towel and laid it down next to Rory's. She slipped off her skirt and pulled her sunglasses over her eyes.

The guys were lying down on their towels with their eyes closed. Sarah and Shaylyn were walking further down the beach. Sarah turned around. "Come on Aubrey, we're going for a walk!"

"What for?" Aubrey called back.

"We're observing the hotties!" Shaylyn giggled.

"I already have a hottie!" Aubrey shouted haughtily.

"Then bring him too!" Sarah yelled exasperatedly.

Aubrey snatched her beer bottle from the sand and grabbed Rory's hand, pulling him to his feet. They jogged up to Sarah and Shaylyn, and the girls linked arms while Rory put his hand around Aubrey's waist. They walked through the shallow water, chatting and laughing, until Sarah stopped abruptly.

"Ooh, lordie!" she whispered. "Who is that gorgeous boy?"

She pointed to a tall, dark and handsome man standing twenty metres ahead. His dark brown hair strayed over his shadowy, mysterious eyes. His golden tanned body was muscular and fit. He had no shirt on, and was standing with his hands in his shorts pockets.

Rory shook his head in wonder. "What about that stunning girl next to him, huh ladies? Whatcha gonna do about her?"

He was right. Next to the man was a beautiful girl. She was talking to him, looking straight in his eyes. Aubrey felt a stab of jealously course through her. The girl had intelligent bluey green eyes, a perfect nose and chin, full lips, and long dark brown hair with ringlets at the bottom. She wore a short fuzzy white bathrobe, presumably with a bikini underneath. _What the hell is she doing outside in that get-up?_ Aubrey thought. She wished she had the same long bronzed legs as this girl.

"I have to have him!" she murmured.

"What about me?" Rory joked.

Aubrey turned to him. "Rory, I just don't think this is going to work."

"What are you talking about?" he roared at her. "We were doing fine before you saw _him_!" He pointed an accusing finger.

"Does that matter? It's over anyway, Rory. We're done. Get away from me."

He opened his mouth furiously to reply, but thought better of it and stormed away.

"Don't you think that was bit harsh?" Shaylyn asked uncertainly.

"I want that guy. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

Sarah shrugged and said, "So what are you gonna do now? How are you gonna get him?"

"Piece of cake," Aubrey said easily.

With confidence she strode over to him. "Hey!" she said brightly. "Are you busy on Saturday?"

He stared at her with a look of surprise, which soon turned to a frown. He shook his head slowly, receiving a punch from the girl next to him. She glared at Aubrey, tugging the man away. As he let himself be dragged off, he glanced in disapproval at the beer bottle in her hand.

Aubrey retreated back to her friends, looking stunned.

"What happened?" Sarah asked anxiously.

"I asked if he was busy," she answered slowly, "and he looked at me funny. Then his _girlfriend_ pulled him away before he could say anything."

She was shocked. She had never ever been rejected before. More often, she was the one rejecting. _Who does that girl think she is? _Aubrey thought, outraged. Still, she was intrigued. _Who is this guy? Is he from the neighbourhood? Will I see him again? _She didn't know. She linked arms with her friends again and stalked away.

As he watched her leave, the young man felt a small feeling of guilt. Who was this girl? Why did he so suddenly feel attracted to her?


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Here's the second chapter! I hope you liked the last one. Please R&R!_

Aubrey slammed her locker shut. How could they be back in school already? The summer had seemed so short. She slung her bag over her shoulder and headed through the nearly empty halls to class.

"You're late, Aubrey," her teacher said dryly, "again."

"Sorry," Aubrey muttered. She didn't care about being late. All she cared about was seeing that guy again.

The teacher wasn't finished. "Don't you think you could have at least _tried_ for a good start this year?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Aubrey said carelessly.

Satisfied, the teacher turned around and started writing on the board. Aubrey pulled her iPod out of her purse and, taking her hair down to cover the headphones, turned it on. She sat at her desk at the back of the class until everyone turned around and looked at her expectantly. The teacher was glowering at her with an eyebrow raised.

Aubrey paused the song and looked up. "Pardon me, Ma'am?"

The teacher continued to scowl. "I have just asked everyone to open their books to page 311."

"Oh. My bad." She opened her book to a random page, pretending not to notice it was upside down.

The teacher rolled her eyes and turned back around. Aubrey turned her iPod back on and leaned back in her chair. She barely looked up as six students she didn't recognize walked in the door.

"Sorry we're late," said a deep, musical baritone. "We're new, and we weren't sure where to go."

Aubrey glanced up. His voice rang in her ears. Her eyes widened in shock. _It was him! _ The gorgeous boy and his girlfriend! _The rest must be their friends, _Aubrey thought. _My god, they're all gorgeous!_ And they were. Beside the guy and his girl were two more boys and two more girls. She couldn't take her eyes off any of them. How could anyone possibly look that good?

She pulled out a piece of paper and quickly scrawled a note on it:

_**OH. MY. GOD. IT'S HIM. I HAVE TO TALK TO HIM AFTER CLASS. AND LOOK AT THEM ALL! THEY'RE ALL SO GOOD LOOKING! HOW DO THEY DO IT?**_

She folded the paper and on the outside wrote _SARAH CAYLEY._ She passed it to the person next to her, who looked at it and nodded, passing it down to where Sarah was sitting.

The note came back a few seconds later.

_**AUBREY ARE YOU SURE YOU SHOULD TALK TO HIM? I MEAN HE ALREADY HAS A GIRLFRIEND. AND HE KIND OF DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING LAST TIME. IS IT A GOOD IDEA?**_

Aubrey rolled her eyes and passed it back.

_**WHAT CAN HE DO? IT'S WORTH A TRY. EVERY GUY FALLS FOR ME, AND THIS ONE WILL BE THE SAME. I'LL GET HIM AT LUNCH. YOU SHOULD TRY FOR ONE OF THE OTHER GUYS. THEY'RE PRETTY HOT TOO. :)**_

The note didn't come back after that. Aubrey suspected that Sarah had crumpled it up in disgust and thrown it in the garbage.

For the rest of the class Aubrey sat with her iPod on and her eyes fixed on the back of his beautiful head. As soon as the bell rang for lunch she picked up her bag and walked briskly out the door. She waited outside for her friends to join her.

"Does anybody know who those people are?" she asked.

"Yeah," Bradley replied casually. "I heard them talking to the teacher. The tall one who talked first, that's Jared. The girl with him is Delta, and the others are Dylan, Landon, Rachel, and Allyson. Jared said they just moved here. He didn't say where from."

"Look, there they are!" Shaylyn whispered excitedly.

Aubrey looked in their direction and saw Jared watching her. As soon as she glanced at him he looked away. She decided she would have another go at talking to him. She walked toward him, looking more confident than she actually was. As she approached them she glared defiantly at Delta, who sneered back.

Aubrey took a deep breath.

Delta interrupted first. "He doesn't want to talk to you," she said snootily.

"Did I ask you?" Aubrey's voice grew in volume. "Is it any of your business who he talks to? Is it your decision who he wants to see?"

Delta opened her mouth heatedly to give a spiteful reply, but Jared put a hand on her arm and shushed her. He nodded at Aubrey to say whatever she wanted to say.

Her knees were trembling. She didn't know why; she was never normally like this around guys. Maybe it was because all of his friends were peering at her curiously over his shoulder. "W-will you g-go out w-with me?" she stammered.

He frowned, his eyebrow furrowing. She couldn't help but think, _He looks cute when he frowns._ Her thoughts were immediately silenced when he shook his head deliberately. His friends snickered. Delta rolled her eyes, smirking, and tugged him away.

Aubrey stared after them in fury. She spun around and marched back to her friends. They figured that she'd been rejected again, so they didn't mention it for the rest of the day. They watched her nervously, but she pretended she wasn't thinking about him. Secretly, worried thoughts ran through her mind. _Why isn't he falling for me? And what the hell is wrong with that Delta girl? _She tried to push Jared out of her mind.


End file.
